- Russian power companies are battling the rise in illegal Bitcoin mining.
- They are now using AI to find criminals.
- Andrei Yatun’s son was arrested.
Russian power companies have a new weapon in their arsenal to stop illegal Bitcoin miners from stealing $16.6 million worth of electricity annually: artificial intelligence.
Boris Evzeyev, head of Russia’s state-run electricity company Rosseti, told a Russian publication: C News He said his company is currently “exploring and testing entirely new approaches to combating illegal mining.”
“We are looking at implementing AI data analysis technology either directly into the smart meter itself or in a portable device that will be installed alongside the smart meter,” Evzeyev said. “We are already leveraging elements of big data analytics and artificial intelligence.”
But as energy providers get smarter, Russia’s illegal cryptocurrency miners are also getting smarter, finding new ways to evade detection and throw investigators off their trail.
counterattack
Evzeyev acknowledged that the biggest challenge for investigators looking for signs of illegal cryptocurrency mining occurs when illegal miners set up shop on industrial sites.
“These sites have limited access to electrical equipment and metering units, and the load is unevenly distributed,” he explained.
An even bigger problem, Evzeyev pointed out, is the rise of “mobile” cryptocurrency mining units.
“It is now common for illegal miners to use mobile mining centers the size of trailers or shipping containers,” Evzeyev said. “This will allow carriers to instantly change the location of illegal connections.”
But Rossetti said incorporating new AI solutions into smart meters for residents and commercial users could help engineers fight back.
“Our unique AI solution allows us to analyze data streams from all types of electricity meters,” Evzeyev explained. “Its algorithms allow us to identify consumption anomalies, detect meter tampering, and monitor a wide range of statistics.”
He concluded that Rossetti’s subsidiary is now creating a “dedicated team of experts” to operate the new diagnostic equipment and analytical systems.
Damages amounted to more than $1.5 million
While power engineers continue to develop new ways to spot illegal miners, Russian criminals are stepping up efforts to steal power from the public grid.
russian newspaper Kommersant Rossetti and the Federal Security Service (also known as the FSB) have shut down a sophisticated illegal cryptocurrency mining scheme believed to be masterminded by the son of a former presidential candidate.
One of those arrested was Maxim Yatun, a construction company owner and son of former Russian presidential candidate Andrei Yatun, the newspaper said.
The Chelyabinsk oblast branch of the FSB announced that four people have been detained on suspicion of stealing electricity worth more than $1.5 million. Officers charged the quartet with “fraud on a particularly large scale”.
Officials said that between November 2024 and April 2025, the suspects “repeatedly” sent falsified documents to local electricity suppliers to falsify their electricity consumption at industrial facilities where they installed banks of cryptocurrency mining rigs.
Police officials revealed Kommersant Security forces raided Maxim Yatun’s home, suspecting that mining equipment used at the site belonged to him.
Tim Alper is a correspondent for DL News. Any tips? email address: tdalper@dlnews.com.
